Healthcare Veterans Launch Martin Pharmaceuticals to Repurpose Drugs for Orphan Indications; Seed Round Oversubscribed

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Business Wire 15-Mar-2018 11:00 AM
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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Two accomplished healthcare executives, David Martin Geliebter and Sven Martin Jacobson, founders of Remedy Pharmaceuticals, announced the launch of Martin Pharmaceuticals, with the mission of repurposing already-approved drugs in order to offer life-changing advances to patients afflicted with rare (orphan) diseases or challenging medical conditions. Martin is the sixth healthcare company the pair has started since 2001.
In May 2017, Remedy Pharmaceuticals sold its repurposed, orphan-designated CNS drug program, CIRARA to Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) for a $120 million upfront payment plus future potential milestones and royalties.
Martin also revealed that it completed a seed round of financing from a group of outside investors to advance a clinical-stage, repurposed drug program. The offering was oversubscribed. No other details were provided other than the Company is planning to start recruiting patients into a phase 1/2 trial for an unspecified life-threatening acute condition.
ABOUT MARTIN PHARMACEUTICALS
Martin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held pharmaceutical company headquartered in the historic Woolworth building in New York City. We concentrate on uncovering already-approved drugs and repurposing them to benefit patients facing a different need than originally intended for those medications.
We also focus our discovery efforts on orphan indications. In the U.S. the Orphan Drug Designation program provides orphan status to drugs and biologics which affect fewer than 200,000 people. Orphan Drug Designation provides companies with, among other benefits, tax incentives and the exclusive right to commercialize the cure for a specific condition for a period of seven years without interference from potential competitors. Europe, Japan, and Australia have similar programs.

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Martin Pharmaceuticals Sven Jacobson, 212-586-2226 x 225sven@martinpharma.com
Source: Martin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.